British G-class submarine
 G class submarine. Photo: R N Submarine Museum, Gosport.
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | G |
| Builders | Chatham Dockyard, Armstrong Whitworth, Vickers, Scott's |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Completed | 14 |
| Cancelled | 1 |
| Lost | 4 |
| Retired | 10 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | submarine |
| Displacement | Surfaced / Submerged: 703 tons / 837 tons |
| Length | 57.5 m |
| Beam | 6.92 m |
| Draught | 4.15 m |
| Propulsion | Twin-shaft, 2 x 800 bhp Vickers diesel, 2 x 840 shp electric motors |
| Speed | Surfaced / Submerged: 14.5 knots (27 km/h) / 10.0 knots |
| Range | 44.14 tons of fuel oil giving 3,160 nm surfaced at 10 knots (19 km/h). 95 nm submerged, at 3 knots (6 km/h). |
| Complement | 31 |
| Armament | Torpedoes: 2 x 18" bow tubes, 2 x 18" beam tubes, 1 x 21" stern tube. 10 torpedoes in total. Guns: 1 x 3" 10 cwt. Mk.1 Elswick Quick Fire High Angle {QFHA}, forward. 1 x 12 pdr. 8 cwt. Mk. 1 gun HA mounting, aft. |
The Royal Navy's G-class of diesel/electric submarines were launched between 1914 and 1917, and intended for operations in the North Sea and German Bight in World War I against German U-boats. The design was based on the E-class, adopting the double hull concept, but in practice showed little improvement, the ships notoriously slow to dive [1]. [1].
A total of 14 boats were built at four yards: G1 to G5 by Chatham Dockyard, G6 & G7 by Armstrong Whitworth, G8 to G13 by Vickers, and G14 by Scott's on the Clyde. G15 was ordered from Samuel White's yard at Cowes, Isle of Wight, but cancelled [2]. The class was distinguished by the 21" torpedo, an electric oven in the galley, and Fessenden Underwater Sound Telegraphy. The G-class had their bows raised during the war to increase buoyancy and improve seakeeping.
Boats
- G1 - Launched 14 August 1915. Sold for scrap 1920.
- G2 - Launched 23 December 1915. Sank U-78 in the Skagerrak, 28 October 1918. Sold for scrap 1920.
- G3 - Launched 22 January 1916. Sold for scrap 1920.
- G4 - Launched 23 October 1915. Sold 1928.
- G5 - Launched 23 November 1915. Sold 1922.
- G6 - Launched 7 December 1915. Sold 1921.
- G7 - Launched 14 March 1916. Last British submarine lost in World War I, on or about 23 October 1918, cause unknown.
- G8 - Launched 1 May 1916. Lost in the North Sea for reasons unknown on or about 14 January 1918.
- G9 - Launched 15 June 1916. Sunk in error by HMS Pasley [not HMS Petard as often quoted] on 16 September 1917. One survivor.
- G10 - Launched 11 January 1916. Sold 1923.
- G11 - Launched 22 February 1916. Wrecked on rocks off Howick, Northumberland, (not Harwich, Suffolk, as stated by some authorities) in thick fog, 22 November 1918. Two crew drowned while abandoning ship.
- G12 - Launched 24 March 1916. Sold 1920.
- G13 - Launched 18 July 1916. Sank UC-43 off Muckle Flugga, 10 March 1918. Sold 1923.
- G14 - Launched 17 May 1917. Sold 1923.
- G15 - Ordered 30 September 1914, cancelled 20 April 1915
References
- ^ Arthur, M. (1997). Lost voices of the Royal Navy, pp. 84. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, London. ISBN 0-340-83814-0
See also
Media related to British G class submarines at Wikimedia Commons